Mists of Pandaria Will Be Released September 25th

The Mists of Pandaria release date has finally been revealed as September 25th, 2012. Its retail price will be $39.99 USD, with a digital collector's edition sitting at $59.99 USD and the physical collector's edition at $79.99.

We've also got the official press release.

Blizzard Entertainment

IRVINE, Calif. – July 25, 2012 – Land, ho! Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. today announced that World of Warcraft®: Mists of Pandaria™, the fourth expansion set for the world’s most popular subscription-based massively multiplayer online role-playing game, will be available in stores and online starting from September 25, 2012. Upon the expansion’s release, intrepid explorers of the Alliance and the Horde will be able to set foot upon the shores of the long-lost continent of Pandaria and embark on a perilous journey to uncover its ancient mysteries.

Mists of Pandaria will be available on DVD-ROM for Windows® XP/Windows Vista®/Windows® 7 and Macintosh® at a suggested retail price of $39.99 USD. The expansion will also be available digitally directly from Blizzard’s World of Warcraft website (www.WorldofWarcraft.com), also priced at $39.99 USD.

A special Collector’s Edition packed with bonus items will be available exclusively in retail stores for a suggested retail price of $79.99 USD. In addition, for the first time, World of Warcraft players have the option to purchase a special Digital Deluxe version of the expansion containing the in-game bonus items from the Collector’s Edition. The Digital Deluxe version is available to download directly from Blizzard via www.WorldofWarcraft.com for $59.99 USD. Players who purchase the standard edition digitally or at retail will have the option to upgrade to the Digital Deluxe version at any time (for as long as the standalone Digital Deluxe version remains available) for an additional $20 USD.

Presales for the standard digital and Digital Deluxe versions of Mists of Pandaria are now live. Players who would like to purchase either version and be ready to play the moment the expansion launches can do so now by visiting www.WorldofWarcraft.com. The expansion content will automatically be digitally delivered to pre-purchasers via World of Warcraft’s streaming launcher prior to the release of Mists of Pandaria. Players who would like to preorder the standard box or the retail-exclusive Collector’s Edition can do so by visiting their local retailer.

“Mists of Pandaria contains the biggest variety of new content we’ve ever created for a World of Warcraft expansion, with features that will appeal to new players, veterans, and everyone in between,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We’ve received a lot of great feedback from players during our most extensive beta test yet, and we hope they enjoy exploring everything Pandaria has to offer when the expansion comes out in September.”

The Digital Deluxe version of Mists of Pandaria includes a full digital copy of the expansion along with the following exclusive in-game bonus items:

World of Warcraft In-Game Mount: Take to the skies of Azeroth astride the mystical Imperial Quilen flying mount.

World of Warcraft In-Game Pet: Journey across Pandaria with the Lucky Quilen Cub at your side.

Diablo® III Banner Sigil and Accent: Display your status as a hero of Pandaria with the iconic markings of World of Warcraft’s newest playable race, the pandaren.

The Collector’s Edition of Mists of Pandaria includes the full version of the game on DVD-ROM and contains the following exclusive bonus items, in addition to the in-game content from the Digital Deluxe version:

Behind-the-Scenes DVD and Blu-Ray: Learn about the creation of Pandaria with this two-disc set featuring over an hour of commentary, insider interviews, and developer roundtables.

In World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria, warships of the Alliance and Horde clash off the coast of a long-lost continent, signaling the start of a new era of discovery and conquest in the history of Azeroth. As players storm the shores of this exotic new frontier and begin to explore its mysteries, they’ll encounter brave new allies, unearth ancient secrets, and play their part in reigniting the long-brewing conflict between the Horde and Alliance on a strange battlefield far from home.

Mists of Pandaria offers a wide variety of content for new and returning World of Warcraft players. Features include a new playable race (the pandaren) with its own starting zone and quests, a new character class (the monk), and an expansive new continent for players to explore as they adventure to the new level cap of 90. The expansion also includes a host of new gameplay elements designed to give players even more ways to enjoy the game, including scenarios -- a flexible new kind of cooperative PvE trial; challenge modes, which offer high-prestige rewards for mastering Mists of Pandaria’s 5-player dungeons; and an all-new pet battle system.

Mists of Pandaria has received a Teen rating from the ESRB. In addition to the English version, Mists of Pandaria will be fully localized into Latin American Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French, German, European Spanish, Russian, Korean, Traditional Chinese, and for the first time with a World of Warcraft expansion launch, Italian. Availability of Mists of Pandaria in mainland China will be announced at a later date.

To learn more about World of Warcraft and Mists of Pandaria, please visit the official website at http://www.worldofwarcraft.com. To set up a Battle.net account and to opt-in to Blizzard Entertainment beta tests, please visit the official Battle.net website at http://www.battle.net. With multiple games in development, Blizzard Entertainment has numerous positions currently available -- visit http://jobs.blizzard.com for more information and to learn how to apply.

About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes fourteen #1-selling games and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company's online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.

Comments

Comment by CrimsonPut

Awesome, now after I can get the all the info on blizzards sites and here, I can go there and read it again! ;P

Comment by deathbyte

on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:03:18 -0500

Since the release date is during brewfest, will they upgrade the loot drops and make it more difficult or will it still be tuned for lvl 85's?

Comment by yukonjack

on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:11:51 -0500

Since the release date is during brewfest, will they upgrade the loot drops and make it more difficult or will it still be tuned for lvl 85's?

Good question and one I think we will have to wait and see on.

Comment by Alfa

on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:34:14 -0500

Since the release date is during brewfest, will they upgrade the loot drops and make it more difficult or will it still be tuned for lvl 85's?

Good question and one I think we will have to wait and see on.

I would assume its for level 90, because they datamined level 90 gear from the dungeon a couple months ago. So if you get to level 90 before its over, cool, if not, there's always next year.

Comment by Daveyray

on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:03:25 -0500

A question from a new player, what do I do if I want the CE box, but want to play as soon as it comes out so I want to buy digitally. Is there an upgrade or refund option if I buy a basic digital copy and then add the CE box later?

Basically you preorder if you can, stand in line at midnight and start playing half an hour later than everyone else. Or else just buy it the next day.

Yes, if by "playing" you mean getting disconnected, enduring constant server reboots, horrendous lag from all of the players logging in at the same time, countless unfixed bugs, ad infininitum. Ref. Beta Launch, Diablo III launch, pretty much any other Blizzard launch.

Not that I'm complaining; I'm looking forward to MoP and will be getting the basic digital copy ... but I'm also taking the "play as soon as the servers are live" shpeil with about a gazillion grains of salt. I have some TV shows I need to get caught up on anyhow.

Comment by jamesjiao

on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:07:41 -0500

$US20 for a mount?... hmm.. nah I will just get the normal version.

So what does everyone think of this expansion compared to Cata and WotLK? Better? Worse? And why? (Note that I never played the beta, so I am open-minded to input).

Comment by Adamsm

on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:27:51 -0500

Since the release date is during brewfest, will they upgrade the loot drops and make it more difficult or will it still be tuned for lvl 85's?

Good question and one I think we will have to wait and see on.

I would assume its for level 90, because they datamined level 90 gear from the dungeon a couple months ago. So if you get to level 90 before its over, cool, if not, there's always next year.

Probably not this year; but it should be upgraded next year.

So what does everyone think of this expansion compared to Cata and WotLK? Better? Worse? And why? (Note that I never played the beta, so I am open-minded to input).

Better then both of them.

Comment by Sas148

on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 19:00:19 -0500

$US20 for a mount?... hmm.. nah I will just get the normal version.

So what does everyone think of this expansion compared to Cata and WotLK? Better? Worse? And why? (Note that I never played the beta, so I am open-minded to input).

It's $20 for a mount and a pet and a few other things for D3 and SC II.

Considering their usual mounts on the store cost $25 and the pet costs $10 you're saving a bit compared to them putting those up individually on the store.

But, if you don't care about any of that then no need to waste the $20.

Comment by Rankkor

on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 19:02:13 -0500

Finally, while I am pretty happy to finally have a release date, I'm kinda sad that its 1 week AFTER my vacations end T_T

I was really hoping for an august release so I'd be able to squeeze my vacations on it.

Ohh well.

Comment by Sas148

on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 19:20:21 -0500

It's released one month into my Fall semester at school. So, I likely won't be very active at the beginning of this expansion (first time ever). Bums me out as well. But the only way I was going to be active is if they released it in January or June. Those are the two times a year I have 1-2 months open for stuff like this.

Comment by Interest

on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 19:22:31 -0500

$US20 for a mount?... hmm.. nah I will just get the normal version.

So what does everyone think of this expansion compared to Cata and WotLK? Better? Worse? And why? (Note that I never played the beta, so I am open-minded to input).

It's $20 for a mount and a pet and a few other things for D3 and SC II.

Considering their usual mounts on the store cost $25 and the pet costs $10 you're saving a bit compared to them putting those up individually on the store.

But, if you don't care about any of that then no need to waste the $20.

Can't forget it's another 20 to get even more physical goodies =)

Comment by Sas148

on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 19:33:06 -0500

True but I have no interest at all in waiting in a line and getting it after midnight when everyone else is already signed/signing in while I get back and install.

Nor do I care to pay $40 and then another $80 so that I can get the physical box whenever but still get on immediately.

To each their own though!

Comment by deathbyte

on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 19:48:17 -0500

True but I have no interest at all in waiting in a line and getting it after midnight when everyone else is already signed/signing in while I get back and install.

Nor do I care to pay $40 and then another $80 so that I can get the physical box whenever but still get on immediately.

To each their own though!

Well for me even after I uy the copy at the store I still have to wait 3 hours before servers open up MoP.

Comment by Interest

on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 20:18:27 -0500

True but I have no interest at all in waiting in a line and getting it after midnight when everyone else is already signed/signing in while I get back and install.

Nor do I care to pay $40 and then another $80 so that I can get the physical box whenever but still get on immediately.

To each their own though!

I'm sure you have no interest. I own it all =)

Comment by Gythis

on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 23:11:42 -0500

As soon as MoP began taking shape, and was talked about, and got to where Beta was going to be released, I guessed the release date, and no, I wasn't perfectly correct, but I was FIVE days off! And I guessed a LONG time ago! I was thinking because the Cata release was on a significant date, this one might be too, so i did my research and found that (it falls on this date this year) on September 30th it is the Autumn Festival (I think thats what it is) and is celebrated in China? (I can't remember it all, haha) So my guess: September 30th, real date, 25th! Not too bad lol, and it was fun guessing! (And i'll try again in 2 years if they continue)

Comment by Gythis

on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 23:13:38 -0500

Lol, I may just have to try and power-level my Pandaren so he can be Brewmaster a year before all the other Pandaren that will get it

Comment by deathbyte

on Wed, 25 Jul 2012 23:24:07 -0500

Lol, I may just have to try and power-level my Pandaren so he can be Brewmaster a year before all the other Pandaren that will get it

RaF, you will be linked for 3 months and if you level 2 toons to 80 then the Recruited person van grant your pandaren 80 levels when Mists hits making you only have 10 levels to powerlevel.

Comment by jamesjiao

on Fri, 27 Jul 2012 00:28:33 -0500

As soon as MoP began taking shape, and was talked about, and got to where Beta was going to be released, I guessed the release date, and no, I wasn't perfectly correct, but I was FIVE days off! And I guessed a LONG time ago! I was thinking because the Cata release was on a significant date, this one might be too, so i did my research and found that (it falls on this date this year) on September 30th it is the Autumn Festival (I think thats what it is) and is celebrated in China? (I can't remember it all, haha) So my guess: September 30th, real date, 25th! Not too bad lol, and it was fun guessing! (And i'll try again in 2 years if they continue)